Thursday, 28 June 2007

Instant Messengers (IMs) have become part and parcel of our lives ever since the birth of the much-loved ICQ (I Seek You) program in 1996. It allowed people to communicate in a very direct manner without going through the hassle of waiting for responses from emails. Following the success of ICQ, came Window Live Messenger, Yahoo Messenger (Beta) and AOL's AIM. Even the almost 2 decade’s old Internet Relay Chat (IRC) still remains popular amongst chatters worldwide.

There remains a problem with these IMs as friends and family members often connected to different networks. To install all the chatting programs is a tedious job and will eventually drain the limited resources of the computer. Thus, a program has been specially created for the Malaysians inbound as well as outbound to minimize their headaches on the problem.

Welcome Malaysia’s first ever creation, ShoutOut - Malaysian Bloggers United. This project is the brainchild of two young Malaysians from Penang, Lasker and Elise. Having launched in April 2006, ShoutOut presently has over 62,000 shouts with an average of 140 shouts per day and it is gaining momentum real fast. Its shouters consist of some Malaysians staying abroad too.

WHY IS SHOUTOUT SO UNIQUE?

It is LIVE.

User friendly and hassle free installation.

Can be easily customized to suit your likings.

Generated HTML coding can be placed anywhere in any blogs or websites of your choice.

Gathers all Malaysian bloggers under one roof.

Cute Butterfly and Panda icon for both male and female shouters when you reach certain shout level or rank.

Easy to upload photograph with captions and show it LIVE.

Everyone who has installed the program will see the chat LIVE in their site as well as in other sites which has this program. So you can chat while you blog hop.

Get you connected to all the local and overseas Malaysians.

Nice Smileys can be added into conversation.

Easy track back of chats through the History folder based on time periods and dates.

Fun facts about the shouters’ statistics

News of what’s happening within the shouter members.

News on what’s going on in Malaysia in What’s Next.

Ability to still continue chatting when other IMs are down.

Presently, ShoutOut is still relying on word of mouth advertising and recommendation by its members. ShoutOut is a Non-Earning Website and joining is FREE. ShoutOut has future plans looking for advertisers. Why not join ShoutOut today and be part of the big family?

Wednesday, 27 June 2007

Firstly, I would like to introduce Penang. It is one of states in Malaysia where most of the Chinese people converse in Hokkien. Food plays an important part in the Hokkien community. They have food such as the Hokkien Mee (Prawn Noodles), Hokkien Char (Stir Fry Yellow Noodle), Hokkien Lam Mee (Birthday Noodles) and so on.

In the Hokkien community, there was a family selling Hokkien Mee as their livelihood. In the family, they have a son named Ong Da Niu. Da Niu or “Big Bull” as his family called him was a very intelligent person. He has all the qualifications and experiences and excelled in whatever line of work there were available in the market. He was the top of the cream and time was never sufficient for him.

With his busy daily schedule, Da Niu tended to forgo what was important in a typical Hokkien family. That was to set up a family to carry on with the surname. His parents began to get worried as age was beginning to catch up on him. When it was time for Da Niu to get married and his parents asked him, “Son, you are getting old and when are you going to find a wife?” Da Niu replied, “Lazy find lar. You go find one for me.”

His parents quickly draft out an advertisement, inserting all his qualifications, experiences, etc. Since they are an English educated family, they placed the long advertisement the next day in The Star Newspaper and News Straits Times for 3 continuous days. They waited anxiously by the telephone each day for the wonderful news but surprisingly no one responded. The following week, his parents placed a bigger advertisement this time and yet they did not even get a response. This went on for a month and they decided to go to China to source a wife for Da Niu.

In China, they went to the province of Fujian where there are lots of Hokkien ladies. They translated the advertisement and distributed the printed flyers to the people there. After a few weeks, there were still no response from the locals. His parents were confused over the reason why no one was willing to marry their son. Finally, they concluded that their advertisement might be too perfect for anyone to believe and decided to summarize it. They then place a large advertisement in the local newspaper. It read as this: “WEDDING PROPOSAL- DA NIU BI JIAO LAN-CALL XXXXXXXXXXXX” since Da Niu is so lazy to find a wife. By the way, “Da Niu Bi Jiao Lan” means “Big Bull is a little bit lazy”. They next day, bus loads of ladies from all over China came for the interview. There were so many ladies that Da Niu’s parents could not decide the best lady for their son.

Out of curiousity, they asked one of the ladies for her feedback on the advertisement. They had a laugh of their lives after knowing the reason behind the advertisement. You see, in Malaysia Chinese is written from left to right whereas in China it is the other way round.

Instead of reading as DA NIU BI JIAO LAN (大牛比較懶), it read as LAN JIAO BI NIU DA (懶較比牛大) meaning in Hokkien that “The Penis Is Bigger Than The Bull’s”. No matter what happened, Da Niu finally got married to a Chinese national. I do not have to tell you the reason; you should be able to guess it right? Haha...

Monday, 25 June 2007

Have you ever being accused of involving in plagiarism? How would you feel if you have no intention of doing so due to overseeing the must to quote or someone else has plagiarized your works as their own and you get wrongly accused for it? There are times when you comment or write something online, you would like to remain anonymous. The risk of doing so will eventually get your posting being plagiarized. So, how sure are you that you are 100% plagiarize free? Let us look at some of the researches that I have done through the internet and how I am going to quote to avoid being wrongly accused in the world of blogging.

There is a website that specializes in plagiarism. Visit plagiarism.org for more information you need to know on plagiarism. According to them, “Changing the words of an original source is not sufficient to prevent plagiarism. If you have retained the essential idea of an original source, and have not cited it, then no matter how drastically you may have altered its context or presentation, you have still plagiarized.”

There are 3 types of bloggers in the blogosphere:

AUTHENTIC BLOGGERS:Those who write from their experiences and happenings in their lives and in their own styles.

PARAPHRASE BLOGGERS: Those who write by paraphrasing other people’s work but proper credit are given to the original writer. These bloggers usually cover topic such as technical, computer, money making, scientific research, etc.

PLAGIARIZE BLOGGERS: Those who copy or borrow other people’s works as their own.

AUTHENTIC: not false or imitation; true to one's own personality, spirit, or character.

PARAPHRASE: a restatement of a text, passage, or work giving the meaning in another form; the use or process of paraphrasing in studying or teaching composition.

PLAGIARIZE: to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own; use (another's production) without crediting the source; to commit literary theft; present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

Types of plagiarism

Learning to recognize the various forms of plagiarism, especially the more ambiguous ones, is an important step towards effective prevention. Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work, or borrowing someone else's original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the offense. Let us look at some of the terms given below.

Sources Not Cited

"The Ghost Writer"

The writer turns in another's work, word-for-word, as his or her own.

"The Photocopy"

The writer copies significant portions of text straight from a single source, without alteration.

"The Potluck Paper"

The writer tries to disguise plagiarism by copying from several different sources, tweaking the sentences to make them fit together while retaining most of the original phrasing.

"The Poor Disguise"

Although the writer has retained the essential content of the source, he or she has altered the paper's appearance slightly by changing key words and phrases.

"The Labor of Laziness"

The writer takes the time to paraphrase most of the paper from other sources and make it all fit together, instead of spending the same effort on original work.

"The Self-Stealer"

The writer "borrows" generously from his or her previous work, violating policies concerning the expectation of originality.

Sources Cited (but still plagiarized)

"The Forgotten Footnote"

The writer mentions an author's name for a source, but neglects to include specific information on the location of the material referenced. This often masks other forms of plagiarism by obscuring source locations.

"The Misinformer"

The writer provides inaccurate information regarding the sources, making it impossible to find them.

"The Too-Perfect Paraphrase"

The writer properly cites a source, but neglects to put in quotation marks text that has been copied word-for-word, or close to it. Although attributing the basic ideas to the source, the writer is falsely claiming original presentation and interpretation of the information.

"The Resourceful Citer"

The writer properly cites all sources, paraphrasing and using quotations appropriately. What is the catch? The paper contains almost no original work! It is sometimes difficult to spot this form of plagiarism because it looks like any other well-researched document.

"The Perfect Crime"

Well, we all know it doesn't exist. In this case, the writer properly quotes and cites sources in some places, but goes on to paraphrase other arguments from those sources without citation. This way, the writer tries to pass off the paraphrased material as his or her own analysis of the cited material.

HOW TO AVOID PLAGIARISM?

Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided, however, by citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed, and providing your audience with the information necessary to find that source, is usually enough to prevent plagiarism.

SOME FREQUENT ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ)

If I write something somebody else already wrote, but I didn't know they wrote it, is that still plagiarism?

While it is possible that you might write on the same topic as someone else, odds are that you will not have exactly the same ideas or express them in exactly the same way. It is highly unlikely that you would be accused of plagiarizing a source you have never read. Be careful, however, of "accidentally" plagiarizing from sources you have read and forgotten. If your ideas turn out to have been influenced by a source that you read but failed to cite for any reason, you could be guilty of plagiarism.

If I cite the source, can I still be accused of plagiarism?

You are allowed to borrow ideas or phrases from other sources provided you cite them properly and your usage is consistent with the guidelines set by fair use laws. As a rule, however, you should be careful about borrowing too liberally. If the case can be made that your work consists predominantly of someone else's words or ideas, you may still be susceptible to charges of plagiarism. Also, if you follow the words of a source too closely, and do not use quotation marks, it can be considered plagiarism even if you cite the source.

After reading everything I have “written” up there, do you feel that I’m plagiarizing? For your information, 80% are “copy & paste”, 10% are “altered”, and the balance is “original”. So how would you rate yourself?

Saturday, 23 June 2007

Nuffnang held a community event named The Orient’s Voice this afternoon at the Food Loft Restaurant, Level 4, GurneyPlaza, Penang. It was the first official bloggers’ gathering held in the Northern region with the help of a panel of Nuffnangers like Cedric Ang and Dragon Head. This event was even more memorable with Kenny Sia, the featured blogger of the month June, who flew all the way from Kuching just to meet up with the Nuffnangers.

Food Loft Restaurant did a good job by sponsoring their place as the venue for the gathering as well as food for 100 bloggers. This trendy and chic restaurant is really a cool place to dine in as it also oversees the famous beach front of Gurney Drive.

There are a few Nuffnangers outside Penang, Nuffnang advertisers and some of the Nuffnang team members who joined in the fun too. There were lots of mingling sessions, photo sessions and even contests with prizes sponsored by Nuffnang, Exabytes, and Oomph.

The event started with the arrival of guest around 12 noon. All registered bloggers were given a RM15 food voucher sponsored by the Food Loft Restaurant, a button pin and a car sticker. I ordered Fricassed Chicken as my main course. It consists of a pie pastry topped with milky chicken garlic gravy. It was delicious. Here is how it looks like.

The event started off with Timothy Tiah of Nuffnang giving a short speech, followed by Cedric. Dragon Head continued with a quiz contest where lots of food vouchers has been given out as prizes. Next in the list was an interview with Kenny Sia. As usual Kenny was in his ever joking mood when he was interviewed by Cedric. For those who are interested to know more, you can view the interview as below. The loading can be quite long as each file is about 5 minutes.

After the interview, Kenny had a shock of his life when he was asked to donate part of his body hair for charity. He hesitated for awhile before he agreed to go on with the idea. I just wondered whose idea was that too…Haha. Finally, Kenny donated his leg hair, nose hair, chest hair and even his hand hair for the Cancer Society. The auction for his hand hair started from as low as 30sen. It ended up in the hands of Timothy for a price of RM20. Watch the photos below and you can see how comical Kenny Sia can be while donating his body hair.

There was also a food eating contest, with BenjiPapa, Chee Hsien and Dragon Head participating. The 3 participants were required to finish up a big bowl of Ice Kacang within the stipulated time of 5 minutes. Chee Hsien emerged as the winner.

The event ended around 3.15pm after a group photo was taken. Here is the bloggers’ group photo.

Friday, 22 June 2007

For this week’s topic on SHINY, I have decided to take a shot of my rings.Just look at the shininess of the diamond in the middle

I have also taken a shot of a Chinese symbolic animal, “Dragon Head Tortoise”.Dragon depicts courage and determination whereasthe Tortoise depicts steadiness.The gold coins it is sitting on signify tremendous wealth and prosperity.It is believed that placing this symbol in the North or East cornerof your office or home will bring excellent career and family luck.

Here is a shiny photo of a plaque on the Buddha’s face.Whichever angle you move to, it will give you the EMBOSSED effect.In fact, the image is ENGRAVED onto the plaque.What an optical illusion!

Thursday, 21 June 2007

There is actually no right or wrong answers to my previous post on Picture to Ponder: Dog vs Beggar. Different people think differently and react differently to a situation or a problem. The post was to test on the maturity, thinking power, level of understanding and personality of a person.

Through the simple pictorial post and through many other articles that I have posted earlier, I have found out that there are many types of people in the blogosphere. Basically, they can be broken down into different categories.

Extraverts: They tend to be naturally active people and full with expressions. They are very sociable and are interested in many things outside of themselves.

Introverts: These are the opposite of extraverts, which makes them more reserved and vary about the world outside them. They have in depth knowledge and focused well in everything they perform. They are a group of low profile people.

COMMANDOS: I talk, you listen. You retaliate, I kill you. These are the group of people who has influences over their followers due to their loud voices and authority to terminate whoever that goes against them. Most people would not step on their tails in order to survive for a longer period of time in the blogosphere.

FOLLOWERS: These people are not decision makers. They tend to follow what others say and do without having their own stand or mind in evaluating any situations or problems. Their actions will prolong their survival in the blogosphere.

Judgers: They are a bunch of structured and organized group of people. Judgers are very productive in decision making and settle things or situation within the quickest possible time.

Perceivers:They are good learners in gaining as much experiences and knowledge as they could. Perceivers are a group of flexible and adaptive people. They always keep their options open to learn up more things. In short, they are always curious about just anything within or outside the blogosphere.

LOVERS: They practically love everything that they see through their eyes. Lovers are people who are filled with love, passion and compassion. They treat everything that either has senses or move about as living things. They are environmentalists who love to see things as they should be.

KILLERS: They elicit chills and horror in the lives of others. They take cruelty and brutality as part and parcel of their lives. They are very temperamental and have unpredictable mood swings.

Thinkers: They see, they think, they write. Thinkers are analytical people whomake decisions based on sensibility and logical points. They will comment based on logical reasoning.

Feelers:This sensitive and empathetic group of people believes in choices and personal values. They are the “make peace, no war” people who are constantly in search of harmony amongst bloggers. They tend to sit on the fence in any disputes.

Conscientious: They set targets in their life and aim to be the best in their own field. They are a bunch of self discipline, hardworking people who will eventually become professional bloggers.

Neurotics: This group of people tends to have emotional instability. Neurotics are always not satisfied about their lives or people surrounding them. Anger, anxiety and depression are their daily dose of expressions.

Sensors: They are practical and literal people. They apply their past experiences and common sense to face the realities of the world surrounding them in their comments.

ARTISEs: They belong to an imaginative and creative group of people. They will foster any relationships in order to make names for themselves.

ASSHOLES: They are people who like to apply the concept of “what they see is what they get and how it is supposed to be”. They like to judge a book by its cover without studying in depth the actual contents. These are the people who like to assume things and situations in their lives.

KIASIS: They are people who have problems in their lives but tend to pretend as if nothing has ever happened. They try to avoid the actual situation or problem and come out with weird excuses rather than facing the situation or problem directly.

KIASUS: They are wanderers with an intention. They like to spy on others’ successful achievements to ensure that they do not lose out to them. They usually do not leave any comments or set hyperlink to the visited blogs.

COPYCATS: This group has the habit of copying other people’s original articles and post as their own. They are most hated by all bloggers.

These are the few categories of people I have encountered since started blogging not long ago. Do you have any other examples which you would like to share? Please do leave a comment here.

Disclaimer: The article was written solely based on the observation of the author. No part or parts of it is targeted at any individual or groups in the blogosphere.

Monday, 18 June 2007

It’s the durian season now and you can practically see those durian sellers squatting by the roadsides displaying different species of durians. There are many ways to open a durian. You can let the durian ripen by itself with a small crack at the base, and then you ply open with your bare hands. You can also use a small Swiss knife, a wooden spear-like stick, a crowbar or even a HAMMER? Gosh…what will they think of next?

I saw this photo in The Star newspaper today and decide to make a joke out of it. The photo is actually that of Jaja Stone, a participant vying for the Jakarta 480th Anniversary Strongman Competition which he indeed won it. He also succeeded in pulling a 50-seater bus 50 metres forward with his genitals. I thought he has a strong head but his other “head” is just as strong. Haha!

I just knew this guy recently and he attached a link to his ghostly stories that happened in Sarawak itself. Maybe you guy would like to read more about the supernatural and the unexplained in his blog. I did write one article previously on my experience on ghost sightings but it ended up something else. Read about it here. I have also decided to dig out some of my original photographs to let you look into something that is beyond my explanations and may cause controversial remarks from scientist as well as readers.

Sometimes there maybe some paranormal anomaly in a photo, and there are always many scientific explanations to them. Some may conclude that it was due to radiation leaking, light filtering, light reflections, weather conditions, camera straps, minute hair stuck to the lens, dust, vapour or even bugs. Sometimes, unexplainable phenomenon just appeared in the photo and no one can figure out the cause of it. The truth is that until today, there are still no accurate answers to prove what is in a photo.

Photographs are one of the most popular things to hoax, especially when it comes to the supernatural and the unexplained. There are no ways to verify that a photo has not been tampered with before or after it has been taken, nor is there a way to prove that what you have taken is not of something out of this world.

Here are some of the photos taken during one of the holy trip to Myanmar. They may or may not contain a paranormal anomaly but whatever is in them, I will let you all decide yourselves.

There are many orbs appearing around the pagoda. What are these orbs? Vapour from the cold night’s air or some spiritual energy?

There are many orbs everywhere in this photo. Some are not clear, some are sharp, some even have colours. Are these dust particles or something else? There are many people who took this shot randomly using normal film-based as well as digital cameras. Not all of them experienced the same effects. Some have clear shots of the site. How do you explain this?

This photo was taken in bright day light on the exterior of a temple. Notice the bright orb in the middle? It is so bright. I have enlarged the spot larger below. What is this then? If you study carefully, there are many other smaller orbs within the photo.

Have you notice that the pattern of this orb is rather unique? It looks as if there is a small figure in the middle or a face.

This was taken in the lobby of Yuzana Hotel during the trip. What is the smoky thing flying about? There were no smokers around there then.

This shot was taken randomly in the compound of a hotel using a Sony digital camera. The smoky thing just appeared from the left of the photo. It was late at night and again there were no smokers around. Some said it looked like a tiger. Some said it looked like the Monkey God from the Journey to the West. What do you think then? Do you have any explanation for this phenomenon?

As I was saying, things do happen beyond our vivid eyes. But how do we explain things that are taken by a camera then? Camera cannot lie. Neither are the photograph takers who are wise and holy people. So there are still no concrete answers to what was taken during the trip. Do you know the truth about the photographs? Please do enlighten me with some serious explanations!

Sunday, 17 June 2007

I was doing some file maintenance today and came upon an old article on education in my email. I thought of sharing this with those people who has yet to finish their education. Here the letter from the dean of a so called college from the United States. It reads as below:

Memo to all students:

In order to assure the highest levels of quality work and productivity from students, it will be our policy to keep all students well taught through our program of SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TEACHING (S.H.I.T.).

We are trying to give our students more S.H.I.T. than anyone else. If you feel that you do not receive your share of S.H.I.T. on the course, please see your lecturer. You will be immediately placed at the top of the S.H.I.T. list, and our lecturers are especially skilled at seeing that you get all the S.H.I.T. you can handle.

Students who do not take their S.H.I.T. will be placed in DEPARTMENTAL EDUCATIONAL EVALUATION PROGRAMS (D.E.E.P. S.H.I.T.). Those who fail to take D.E.E.P. S.H.I.T. seriously will have to go to EDUCATIONAL ATTITUDE TRAINING (E.A.T. S.H.I.T.).

Since our lecturers took S.H.I.T. before they graduated, they don't have to do S.H.I.T. anymore, and are all full of S.H.I.T. already.

If you are full of S.H.I.T., you may be interested in a job teaching others. We can add your name to our BASIC UNDERSTANDING LECTURE LIST (B.U.L.L. S.H.I.T.).

For students who are intending to pursue a career in management and consulting, we will refer you to the department of MANAGERIAL OPERATIONAL RESEARCH EDUCATION (M.O.R.E. S.H.I.T.).

This course emphasizes how to manage M.O.R.E. S.H.I.T.. If you have further questions, please direct them to our HEAD OF TEACHING, SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TRAINING (H.O.T. S.H.I.T.).

Thank you,

BOSS IN GENERAL,

SPECIAL HIGH INTENSITY TEACHING

(B.I.G. S.H.I.T.)

Haha… I am still laughing over the way this memo was written. It is full of S.H.I.T.s. Have a nice weekend!

Friday, 15 June 2007

One fine evening, a young urban professional (Yuppie) went for a jog together with some friends at the local park. Accidentally, his watch flew out as he slipped and fell down onto the grass. The watch was special to him as it held many sentimental memories. After a long time of searching high and low together with his friends, he almost gave up. It was near sundown when he saw a group of small boys playing nearby. He went over to them and promised them that whoever found his watch would be rewarded handsomely. Upon hearing this, the boys hurried themselves to the grass area and searched every inch for the watch.

Amongst them was a small boy around the age of 9 years old. The Yuppie noticed that he was just sitting down there quietly doing nothing. It was almost dark when the boys went over to him shaking their heads in vain. He then saw the 9 year old boy stood up, went over to a nearby bushes, sticking his tiny hand into the bushes and pulled out a watch. The Yuppie was happy and asked the boy how he could find the watch so easily while the rest of them could not. The boy replied, “I practically did nothing except to sit there quietly, making myself felt like a part of the grass.” He then continued, “I just listen in silence and heard the ticking of the watch coming from that bushes. I went over and found it there.”The Yuppie was surprised with the answer given by a boy of such a tender age. He then gave the boy RM50 as promised and the boy ran home happily.

The moral behind this story is that sometimes we as an adult acts as if we understand everything so well and can rule the world perfectly. In actual fact, we sometimes lose out to the innocence of just a simple child. We often allow our inner voices, intuitions or even our hearts to be polluted by the noise of the world. With the availability of flashy advertisements, wide arrays of magazines depicting the rich and famous and the greed of wanting to be better materialistically compare to others, had made us feel incompatible to the world surrounding us.

All these “wants” had made us often emulate or imitate others without having a trust in our own decision making. We simply jumped into conclusion and blindly rushed into false and imaginary dreams and goals. Wealth, fame, materialism, inappropriate life partner, false pride are always misleading in our lives. These will not bring us lasting happiness or make us understand the real meaning of life. In life, sometimes we need to distance ourselves from the influence of this confusing world and search for tranquility, to learn to listen to our inner voices and move towards true love, true joy, true peace and true happiness.

Have you experienced how hard it is to find something you wanted when your heart and mind are not at peace? Have you ever realized that when you are having the peace of mind, things that you have lost suddenly popped out from nowhere? Do share with us here what you have experienced before.

Wednesday, 13 June 2007

Penang, or commonly known as the Pearl of The Orient, is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. The island has long been known as one of Southeast Asia's finest destinations. Penang’s rich history, diverse culture, delicious food, outstanding beaches, beautiful resorts and exotic sights have made it one of the most popular destinations in the region. Penang gets its name from the Malay word “pinang”, in reference to the areca plant which grew on the island in abundance. The nut of the tree, commonly called betel, was chewed habitually throughout the East. Therefore, the name “Island of the Betel Nut” or Pulau Pinang in Malay was given to the island.

Brief History

Penang was founded by Captain Francis Light in 1786. It joined the Straits Settlement when it was formed in 1932, in which consists of 2 other states, Malacca and Singapore. Penang became its capital for 3 years before it was taken over by Singapore in 1835. At the end of WWII in 1945, Penang has since been developed into a contemporary metropolis with modern infrastructures and booming of multinational corporations.

Geographical

Penang is located at North West of Peninsular Malaysia. It is made up of the PenangIsland and Province Wellesley on the mainland, separated by the Straits of Malacca.

Population

Approximately 1.23 million people which consists of 3 major races. Chinese, Malays and Indians

Religion

Islam as the official religion, followed by Buddhism, Christianity and Hinduism

Climate

The climate is between 25oC to 30oC with evenly distributed rainfall throughout the year. See the local weather report here.

- The Penang Bridge which is 13.5km in length links the Island and the mainland.

- Tunku Abdul Razak Complex (KOMTAR), which is the tallest building in Penang.

Places of Interest

You can get more information from Tourism Penang. Here are some of the interesting places you might be interested to visit:

Heritage TrailIt’s a must-not-miss experience to study the cultural, historical and architectural heritage of Penang.

ChinatownChinatown on the island stretches from Weld Quay to Lebuh Stewart, Lebuh Muntri, Lebuh Campbell and Lebuh King. Chinatown is so large and well-preserved that you will sense and feel the lifestyle of Chinese immigrant settlers who came here in the 1800s. Visitors will be intrigued by many clan houses, shop houses and temples found along these streets, which reflect the heritage left behind.

Colourful saris, fragrant spices, and glittery jewellery gather in Penang's Indian enclave to give visitors a multi-sensory experience. The old-world charm of Penang is romantically captured in traditional trades like astrology and betel nut-peddling.

Located along Lebuh Armenian, this museum was the former home of Syed Mohamad Alatas, a pepper trader from Acheh. It houses some very rare relics of the Islamic community.Kek Lok Si Temple

The temple which is also known as the 'Monastery of Supreme Bliss' was built in 1890. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Malaysia and one of the finest in South-east Asia. Next to the temple is a huge bronze statue of the Goddess of Mercy which was completed in 2003.

Above 830 metres (2,730 ft.) above sea level, offers a panoramic of Georgetown and the mainland. Visitors can ascend to the top of the hill by either hiking up using Moon Gate or road track next to Botanical Garden or by the funicular railway which has been operational since 1922.

Botanical GardensThis is a place where there are lots of nice landscaping, floral and fresh air. You can see different species of monkeys lingering around the garden.

KuanYinTemple also known as the Temple of the Goddess of Mercy is the oldest temple in Penang. The temple reflects the splendour of an ancient Chinese architecture, decorated with intricately crafted dragons and stone sculptured dragons.

This Khoo clan temple has carved beams made from the finest wood and unique architectural design.

Tanjung City MarinaThe marina is the first inner city marina in the country. It was completed in October 2005 and is now fully operational. It is strategically located on the waterfront of George Town, occupying 1.6ha of the coastal land adjacent to the Weld Quay ferry terminal. The marina is within walking distance from the heart of the city.

Fort CornwallisLocated on the Esplanade, this 200 year-old fort marks the spot where Captain Francis Light, the founder of Penang, first landed in 1786.

This temple was built in 1850 to dedicate to the deity Chor Soo Kong. The temple is a sanctuary for the pit vipers said to be 'servants' of the deity. These poisonous snakes coil round pillars, beams and potted plants throughout the temple in a comatose state, made drowsy by the burning incense.

The first of its kind to be built in the world, the farm is home to more than 400 species of butterflies and insects. Butterflies flutter about under a huge net in the 0.8-hectare area. A lily pond, artificial waterfalls, and gardens peppered with exotic flowers add to the landscape.

This mansion is a typical home of a rich Baba a century ago and it offers a vast collection of antiques and collectibles. It has a 19th century architecture structure and was the former home of Kapitan Chung Keng Kwee.

The recreational forest in 32-hectare of land with a forestry museum located within the vicinity. It makes an interesting introduction to the Malaysian forest.

Penang National ParkThe Penang National Park (previously known as Pantai Acheh Forest Reserve) is the first protected area legally gazette under the National Park Act of 1980, signifying the State and Federal Governments' efforts in protecting the environment. The Park's ecosystem is a diversity of habitats with hills, sandy and rocky beaches, streams and coastal forests representing much of the natural habitats of Penang.

This compilation is solely the recommendations of the author and is provided for informational purposes only. All actions taken are solely based on the readers’ own decisions. The links in this site are provided as is and without warranties of any kind either expressed or implied. The listing does not warrant that the links or any of its functions will be uninterrupted or error free, It also does not warrant or make any representations regarding the use or the results of the use of the materials in this site or in third-party sites in terms of their correctness, accuracy, timeliness, reliability or otherwise.

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